Elderslie ( gd, Ach na Feàrna) is a village in the

council area {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) A council area is one of the areas defined in Schedule 1 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and is under the control of one of the local authorities in Scotland created by that Act. ...

and historic county of

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

in west central

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It chiefly serves as a

commuter village A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

, situated midway between the towns of Paisley and

Johnstone Johnstone ( sco, Johnstoun,
gd, Baile Iain) is a town ...

, and lies west of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

city centre. Elderslie is most famous as the assumed birthplace of Scottish hero Sir

William Wallace Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army a ...

, a knight born around 1270 who served as a military leader in the

Wars of Scottish Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of ...

before being captured and executed.

History

The origin of the name of "Elderslie" is

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

for "field of Elder Trees". It is assumed that

was born and grew up in Elderslie. On the site of the ancient Elderslie Castle there stands a monument to commemorate his life, and a commemoration ceremony is held every August. Also on the site is the Wallace Yew, an ancient

yew tree Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus b ...

and the Wallace Oak stood nearby until 1856.

Auchenbathie Tower Auchenbathie, Auchinbathie Tower or rarely Barcraigs TowerAlexander, p.158 is a ruined fortification, a tower house, once held by the Wallace Clan of Elderslie, situated in Renfrewshire, Parish of Lochwinnoch, Scotland. The spelling used varies gr ...

a few miles to the south is a site associated with William Wallace in an action against the English. From 1862 to 2004 the village was the home to Stoddard Carpets which made the carpets for the

Cunard Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...

liners , and ''

Queen Elizabeth 2 ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' (''QE2'') is a retired British ocean liner converted into a floating hotel. Originally built for the Cunard Line, the ship, named as the second ship named ''Queen Elizabeth'', was operated by Cunard as both a transatlantic ...

'' which were built by

John Brown & Company John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a Scottish Naval architecture, marine engineering and shipbuilding firm. It built many notable and world-famous ships including , , , , , and the ''Queen Elizabeth 2 (ship), Queen Elizabeth 2''. At its ...

in their shipyard in

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...

. The firm also produced carpets for Queen Elizabeth II's wedding in Westminster Abbey, the ocean liner and for the

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...

aircraft. A remaining example of the work which was carried out here can be seen in the circular carpet which covers the floor of the drawing room in

Culzean Castle Culzean Castle ( , see yogh; sco, Cullain) is a castle overlooking the Firth of Clyde, near Maybole, Carrick, in South Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is the former home of the Marquess of Ailsa, the chief of Clan Kennedy, but is ...

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his o ...

. Elderslie railway station operated on the

Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway The Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway (GPK&AR) was a railway in Scotland that provided train services between Glasgow, Kilmarnock and Ayr. It opened its first line, between Glasgow and Ayr, in stages from 1839 to 1840. The section b ...

from 1840 to 1966.

Education

There is one non-denominational

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

in Elderslie: Wallace Primary School, which is a feeder school for Castlehead High School, a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

in Paisley.

Landmarks

*William Wallace Monument and Wallace Yew *Elderslie Kirk; Elderslie was once divided between two

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es of the established

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

, Elderslie West and Elderslie East, which amalgamated around 1977. Worshippers now meet in the former West church, renamed Elderslie Kirk. *Old Patrick Water; The stream which runs through the village, colloquially known as the Brandy Burn *There is a golf club called Elderslie Golf Club and a bowling club.

Notable people

(died 1305) – Scottish warrior *

Wilhelmina Alexander Wilhelmina Alexander (1756–1843), was born at Newton House, Elderslie, Renfrewshire. She was the 4th daughter of Claud Alexander of Newton and Joanna, daughter of Alexander Cuninghame of Craigends. Her lasting fame derives from being Robert B ...

(1756–1843) - Robert Burns' Bonnie Lass o'Ballochmyle. *

Margaret McCoubrey Margaret McCoubrey (1880–1955) was an Irish suffragist and active participant of the co-operative movement. Life McCoubrey nee Mearns was born on 5 January 1880 in Elderslie, near Glasgow in Scotland. McCoubrey married an Irish trade unioni ...

(1880–1955) – Irish suffragist and active participant of the co-operative movement. *

George Campbell Hay George Campbell Hay (1915–1984) was a Scottish Symbolist poet and translator, who wrote in Scottish Gaelic, Scots and English. He used the patronymic Deòrsa Mac Iain Dheòrsa. He also wrote poetry in French, Italian and Norwegian, and t ...

(1915–1984) – Writer *

Dougie Vipond Douglas Vipond (born 15 October 1966) is a Scottish broadcaster and drummer. Early life Vipond was brought up in Inchinnan and attended Park Mains High School in Erskine, choosing to go there because of the reputation of the music department. A ...

(1966–present) – television presenter and drummer of

Deacon Blue Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow during 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond. The band released their debut album ...

. * Peter Nardone (1965–present) – musician *

Richard Madden Richard Madden (born 18 June 1986) is a Scottish actor. He was cast in his first role at age 11 and made his screen acting debut in 2000. He later began performing on stage whilst a student at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In 2007, he ...

(1986–present) – actor *

Callum Hawkins Callum Robert Hawkins (born 22 June 1992) is a British distance runner, who competed in the marathon at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He is the Scottish record holder in the marathon and the British all-time number three at that distance behind Mo F ...

(1992–present) – Scottish record holder in the marathon and the British all-time number three.

References

External links